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Tag: constitutional review

  • Constitutional review: Advocates seek Southeast’s support for Reserved Seats Bill

    Constitutional review: Advocates seek Southeast’s support for Reserved Seats Bill

    Stakeholders advocating for the passage of the Reserved Seats Bill for Women have called on political leaders and citizens in the Southeast to support the proposed legislation.

    The stakeholders described the bill as one that would mark a turning point for the nation’s democracy if supported to become a law.

    The stakeholders spoke in Enugu during a press conference ahead of the kickoff of the Zonal public hearings by the Senate Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution slated for Friday and Saturday in Enugu.

    The Southeast zonal coordinator of the Reserved Seats Bill for Women Campaign, Dr Adaora Onyechere Sydney Jack, who spoke on behalf of the others, said the spotlight about the constitutional review would now firmly be on the Reserved Seats Bill for Women, a bold legislative proposal that seeks to amend the constitution to guarantee women a minimum number of seats in federal and state legislatures.

    “Nigeria is on the path to inclusive democracy and reserved seats for women is the bridge to get us there”, she said, adding that if passed, it would “be a turning point for Nigeria.

    “If passed, the Reserved Seats Bill could alter the trajectory of Nigerian governance for generations. It would empower women to contest, lead, and legislate not as exceptions, but as equals. It could inspire a new era of leadership, one that prioritizes education, healthcare, human rights, and community-centered growth. It will make Nigerian democracy whole”.

    While expressing great pride on how far the National Assembly members had gone so far in supporting the proposed bill and how they had continued to echo the conviction, Onyechere lauded the Nigerian parliament for working the talk for the first time, leading not just by promissory notes but by activation.

    She dismissed the notion that the proposed bill was about preferential treatment for women, insisting that it is about institutional justice that “acknowledges that the rules of the game have always been rigged, and seeks to rebalance them in favour of a fairer, more participatory democracy.

    “Democracy thrives not only through votes but through representation.

    Read Also: Constitutional review: Advocates seek Southeast’s support for Reserved Seats Bill

    “Despite women constituting nearly 50% of Nigeria’s population, they occupy less than 7% of seats in the National Assembly. That is not a coincidence; it is the result of decades of exclusion, societal bias, structural barriers, and political violence that disproportionately affects women.

    “For decades, Nigerian women have been systematically underrepresented in the corridors of power. From state assemblies to the National Assembly, women account for a fraction of political leadership, a stark contrast in a nation where women constitute nearly half the population.

    “The Reserved Seats Bill for women seeks to rewrite that imbalance by creating constitutionally guaranteed space for women in governance not as a token gesture, but as a strategic necessity for national progress.

    “This is not about privilege. It’s about justice. The Reserved Seats Bill is our vehicle for inclusive democracy for a system where the voices shaping policy reflect the diverse reality of our people,” she said.

  • Reps dep spokesman assures of inclusivity in constitutional review

    Reps dep spokesman assures of inclusivity in constitutional review

    Deputy Spokesperson of the House of Representatives, Hon. Philip Agbese, has assured Nigerians of inclusive engagement and free participation in the ongoing constitution review process.

    The Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, had on Monday, 26th February, 2024, inaugurated the Constitution Review Committee made up of eminently qualified Members of the lower chamber, drawn from the 36 States of the Federation, with special consideration for female parliamentarians.

    The Committee, according to the Chairman who is also the Deputy Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu, would round up its activities in target time of December, 2025.

    Hon. Agbese, in an interaction with reporters in Abuja on Friday, said the Kalu-led Committee was determined to accommodate all interests, in making sure the exercise is wholistic and meets the test of time.

    Agbese who was recently named the Spokesperson of the House Committee on Constitution Review, said the nation would be grateful to the 10th House, by the end of the Committee’s assignment.

    He said the amended version would address many agitations, yearnings and aspirations of the generality of the people of Nigeria.

    “We are going to carry everyone along. Aside receiving memoranda from organizations, agencies of government, individuals and various interest groups, another jurisdiction of this Committee would be to create a forum for relevant stakeholders and members of the public to make their inputs to the constitution review process, this we shall be doing through public hearing and continuous citizens engagements across the board.

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    “We shall also build a robust and collaborative relationship with the Nigerian Senate and the 36 States Houses of Assembly, whose resolutions are part of the legislative journey to the reviewed document. This is to reduce or totally eradicate the usual bottleneck or noncompliance that characterised other constitution review exercises in the past.

    “Also, in this course, we shall be liaising with relevant government agencies, both the executive and judicial bodies, state governments, women groups, academics, civil society organizations, labour unions, professional bodies, ethnic nationalities, Nigerians in the Diaspora, Diplomats and the general public, in receiving memoranda and getting them involved in making necessary inputs, while the process lasts.

    “With the array of stakeholders we have enumerated and how the Chairman is coordinating the process, I’m sure there won’t be any section or interest that would be left out, at the end of the day”, Agbese said.

    The lawmaker said the thematic areas which the Committee intends to cover include, Federal Structure and Power Devolution; Local Government/Local Government Autonomy; Public Revenue, Fiscal Federation, and Revenue Allocation; Nigerian Police and Nigerian Security Architecture, with special attention to State Police; Comprehensive Judicial Reforms; Electoral Reforms to strengthen INEC to deliver transparent, credible, free and fair elections; Socio-economic and cultural role for the Traditional Institutions.

    Other areas include, Issues of Gender; Strengthening the Independence of institutions and agencies created by the constitution or pursuant to an Act of the National Assembly; Residency and Indigene Provisions; Immunity; The National Assembly; Process of state creation and State access to mining, amongst others.

    Agbese also assured that the Committee would be working assiduously to ensure the target of delivery within 24 months is achieved.

    He said the Chairman is an experienced lawmaker and a pan Nigerian who is poised to deliver a durable, workable and all-inclusive document to Nigerians as constitution.